January 26, 2017
Delaware News
Delaware 105.9
Senate confirms Carney nominees for Education, Safety and Homeland Security, other Cabinet positions
After a very lengthy hearing the Delaware State Senate has spoken. Former Indian River School District Superintendent Dr. Susan Bunting, is the new Secretary of the Department of Education. The vote on Bunting was, 18 yes, one vote no from Senator Colin Bonini, one absent and one vacant.
Delaware State News
CR school district names assistant superintendent
The Caesar Rodney school board on Tuesday appointed the district’s Human Resources director, Dr. Michael Noel, to the post of assistant superintendent. He will serve in both jobs concurrently, school district officials said. “Michael has come up through the ranks in Caesar Rodney as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and director,” said Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald.
Education Week
ESSA is an opportunity for states
Opinion by Jack Markell, who served as the governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017
After 14 years of No Child Left Behind—a federal education law that brought needed attention to underserved students across the country, but became increasingly out of touch with classroom realities—states are ready for changes under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which goes into full effect in the 2017-18 school year.
New principal standards catch on
Northwest Missouri State University graduates about 30 principal-candidates a year, most of whom work in small school districts that are near the university in Maryville, Mo. But the university’s school of education is seeking to broaden its impact beyond the region and even the state, and it has seized on using new professional standards for school leaders to do just that. Delaware, West Virginia, and Nebraska are among the states that forged ahead in using the revised professional benchmarks to revamp how they are preparing and supporting their next generation of principals and school leaders.
The News Journal
Many agree Delaware special ed bill is needed, but there’s no money for it
Special education advocates say Delaware’s school funding system is denying important help to almost 2,500 of the state’s youngest students. Rep. Kim Williams, D-Newport, is sponsoring a bill she says would fix that. Yet, despite widespread support, it is one of many proposals that has little chance of passing because of a projected $350 million state budget gap.
National News
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Public Schools declares itself ‘sanctuary’ campus
The board of the Pittsburgh Public Schools unanimously passed a resolution tonight declaring itself a “sanctuary” campus. Immigration agents would not be permitted on school grounds without permission from the district’s law department and the superintendent under the motion, which pledges a “safe and supportive school environment” for students regardless of immigration status.
The Atlantic
Is the bar too low for special education?
In fourth grade, Drew’s behavioral problems in school grew worse. Gripped by extreme fears of flies, spills, and public restrooms, Drew began banging his head, removing his clothing, running out of the school building, and urinating on the floor. These behaviors, which stemmed from autism and ADHD, meant that Drew was regularly removed from the classroom in his suburban school outside of Denver and only made marginal academic improvement, according to court documents.
The Daily News
Washington National Board Certified Teachers fourth in nation
When Butler Acres Elementary teacher Koko Musgrove came up on the 20-year mark in her career, she began to think about whether her work was good enough. “At that point I was really questioning: Am I doing best practices (in the classroom) in the way that I think I am?” Musgrove said. So the veteran teacher turned to an increasingly popular way for teachers to reinvigorate their careers and stay in the field: she began to seek her National Board Certification.
The Hechinger Report
A new movement to treat troubled children as ‘sad, not bad’
On dress-down days, Sherlae’s outfits almost always include sequins and sparkles. Whenever she passes a window, she lights up, in a way that matches her sunny personality and big, dimpled smile. But for years, because of strife at home, she had to force herself to look cheerful each morning as she walked into her school, Lawrence D. Crocker College Prep in uptown New Orleans.